


Once More, With Feeling

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Musical
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-13
Updated: 2012-12-13
Packaged: 2017-11-21 00:51:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/591575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode of the same name. Sam unwittingly brings a certain affliction on the town, causing everyone to sing their feelings. Hilarity (naturally) ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sam didn’t know what he was doing when he picked up the amulet that he found on the floor of the basement in Rufus’s old safe-house. Honest, he didn’t. He consulted John and Bobby’s journals and a few books on symbolism and didn’t find anything so he figured it was probably a harmless charm. Deciding he liked the design, he thought he’d keep it. Just before Dean got back and could start asking questions, Sam tucked it away in his wallet.

* * *

  
Later that week, while on a research mission--naturally, as Dean never did the research--Sam noticed some strange things. First of all, he had a sudden urge to dance. And secondly...well, he did just that. Right in the middle of the library, he started dancing through the stacks. And not just any dancing. There was...singing involved. He’d never admit to the song, nor the style of dance, but there had to be something up their alley going on here and he’d have to mention it to Dean.

  
When he got back to the motel the next morning, Dean and Cas were sitting on complete opposite sides of the room and Cas looked as if he’d eaten something rotten.

“So, Sammy, any news on this avenging ghost or what? You were out all night after all.”

Sam shrugged. “A few unsolved murders, but none anywhere close to what we’re dealing with. Other than that, nothing sticks out.”

Dean grunted and continued his glaring at the floor, his arms crossed so tightly that Sam was surprised he had any blood-flow in them. Castiel’s face, meanwhile, only grew more sour as time progressed.

“So, uh...did either of you two randomly...burst into song and dance last night?” Sam asked in a rush, partly hoping nobody heard him.

“You mean--”

“It wasn’t just us.”

Castiel sighed in relief and Dean let out a half-laugh, half-sob. “Oh man, you have no idea. I’ve been so afraid it was going to happen again. Any clues as to what it could be?”

“Demon, maybe? Or a Trickster.”

“This is beyond either of those. For it to affect an angel of the Lord...” Cas trailed off, an intense look taking host on his face as he scoured the infinite knowledge in his mind for an answer.

“So, Sammy, what did you sing? Some Celtic Woman perhaps? I know you listen to them on your girly ass iPod thing.”

“Number one, I do not listen to Celtic Woman, and number two I am so not telling you.”

“Aw, come on, I’ll tell you mine.”

“No, Dean.”

“It was Cherry Pie. I was at a stri--bar. I was at a bar. After I finished my work at the police station. Yep.”

Sam rolled his eyes. Naturally, Dean had made his way to the only strip club in the tiny town they were in. "Whatever, man, I'm still not telling you."

“Where’s the fun in that? What about you, Cas? What heart-wrenching ballad did you sing? Cas?”

Sam looked toward where Cas was sitting and noted the sudden emptiness. Cas had vanished, hopefully chasing a lead. “So do you think it was just us? I mean, nobody else in the library was singing. Was anyone at the club doing it?”

“It’d be kind of hard to tell there. I dunno, peek outside, anyone singing in the streets?”

Sam opened the door to see a couple arguing by a car.

“ _I got my ticket for the long way round, the one with the prettiest of views. It’s got mountains it’s got rivers, it’s got sights to give you shivers, but it sure would be prettier with you,_ ” the man sang to the woman who was packing what looked like everything the man owned into a car.

“Definitely not just us. So what do we do about this? I mean, how exactly does one research this? Type sudden bursting into song into Google and hope we find something?”

“I dunno.”

“All I keep thinking is what if this isn’t the worst of whatever this thing is conjuring? What if it comes up with a worse torture?”

_“Hit me with your best shot! Why don’t you hit me with your best shot?”_

“Oh no.”

_“Hit me with your best shot!”_

**_“Fire away!”_ **

Sam and Dean exchanged horrified looks as they continued through the rest of the Pat Benatar song, complete with eighties-esque choreography. When the song finally came to an end, they couldn’t look at each other.

“Okay, we definitely need to end this bullshit yesterday,” Dean said angrily to the wall.

“I’m with you there.”

There was a sudden draft and sound of wings as Castiel reappeared, looking far more disgruntled than he had before.

“Aw, Cas, you just missed Sam and I having an estrogen party as we bonded over Benatar,” Dean joked, hoping if he made light of the situation it would be less horrifying.

“I don’t understand your references, Dean. I don’t know how many times I need to tell you this.”

“Geez, Cas, what’s got your wings in a knot?”

“I cannot seem to stop singing and dancing my feelings. The only positive is that I don’t have to do it in an embarrassing manner, as this spell seems to have no effect on my flight.”

“So you think it’s a spell?” Sam asked.

“There is little else that could be causing this. Another angel, perhaps, but the only angel who had a flair for such things as this was Gabriel. And we all know what happened there.”

“Okay, for now, let’s just all separate. Sam, you take the library. Cas, you go poke around wherever you can to find something that can relate to this. I’ll patrol the town to make sure all that’s going on is the singing and dancing. Last thing we need is chaos on our hands. Clear?”

Sam and Cas nodded their assent, Sam reaching for the car keys and Cas quickly flying away. “He had a point, you know.”

“What about?”

“Gabriel,” Sam said simply. “He’s the only logical answer for any of this, and yet it’s completely illogical.”

“Yeah, well, all I have to say is if that son of a bitch is still out there somewhere and this is how he’s making it known, I’m going to rip his wings off one feather at a time.”


	2. Chapter 2

Castiel, true to form, had gone as far away from the Winchesters as he possibly could. Unlike Sam and Dean he felt no confusion whatsoever as to who he was singing about. His songs were for Dean Winchester, as was the song in his soul, the song that ached and ebbed with every breath the angel took. The song of his soul was more heartbreaking and melancholy than any song sung by a human, though the songs he found himself singing did come close. The pain of loving a human when you could never be with one was more than anyone should have to endure, and yet Castiel couldn't find himself to curse this pain, certain it was some form of punishment for some ill he'd done in his past. Content to sing his frustrations and unrequited feelings in solitude, he wandered the globe between the celestial and corporeal states, not really looking for a source of the problem, but not shutting out any oddities either. This may be his only chance to voice his feelings, after all.

Dean, meanwhile, was right in the thick of it. He slowly wandered through the town, taking in everything he saw. He even went so far as to sit down and casually enjoy a few couples' love songs. Though he'd never admit it to Sam, the song he'd sung the night before wasn't actually a casual rock song about a hot chick. It was a ballad he'd sung alone in the dark corner of a bar, though he wasn't entirely sure who he'd sung about. Though if the way he felt in the motel with Cas was any inclination, he'd guess that's who it was about. Which, of course, completely blindsided him. That was the real reason he'd suggested they all separate. Though it seemed it didn't matter the distance; with each love song he watched performed, he only longed to sing his own that much more. Not sure how long he'd be able to fight it, he simply continued through town, stopping and watching people sing and dance.

Sam sped to the library as quickly as he could, which actually wasn't all that quick. All through the streets of the town people were singing and dancing in various arrangements. In the ten minutes it took him to get to his destination, he saw a couple dancing while a man sang Sinatra, a group of teenage boys singing some boy band song about being beautiful to some shy bookworm types, and an elderly man singing to his equally aged wife about how their love is forever. The entire drive over he prayed to every God he didn't believe in that he wouldn't have to sing again. He still wasn't sure what he'd sung about, and had yet to even consider it could've been a who. He just knew that for some odd reason, he was suddenly adept at ballet and was singing the most gut-wrenching ballad he'd ever heard. Perhaps it was something to do with being in the library. Perhaps he was about to unlock the key to it all.

* * *

As Dean wandered through the town, he found himself wondering if it were possible he were in love with Castiel. True, there was a certain tightening of his chest when he thought the angel was in danger or in distress. True, he had a certain compulsion when it came to jumping to Castiel's rescue. True, too, he couldn't seem to bring himself to disappoint him. He supposed when he sat down and really thought about it, he very well could be in love with Castiel. If he thought about it deeply, he figured it were possible he loved Castiel more than he had ever loved Lisa or anyone else for that matter. Unable to fight it any longer, he gave into the song that was fighting its way out of him.

_"Let's get old together. Let's be unhappy forever, 'cause there's no one in this world that I'd rather be unhappy with. Let's be exposed and unprotected, let's see one another when we're weak. Let's go our separate ways in the night like two moths, but know that you're flying home to me."_

He continued through the town, not really dancing, but not quite walking either. A few people stopped and watched him as he went by, whispering to each other. Probably since he was one of the few who didn't have a duet partner. Or perhaps it was due to the overwhelming aching need and sadness emanating from him as his song continued.

_"Don't say nothing. Just sit next to me. Don't say nothing. Shhh. Just be, just be, just be."_

Unable to help himself, Dean reflected on his life ever since Castiel had pulled him from perdition. It was true, indeed, that his life had improved at least tenfold. It was also true that any time anything went sour, Cas was there to be a shoulder to lean on or to offer assistance. No matter what went wrong in Dean's life, Castiel was always at his side. Sure, there were times when they forgot each other, when they each crossed an unspoken line and committed some deep, hidden betrayal, but in the end, they always came back to each other.

_"I wear you out with frustration and heartache and anger but we wait for the wave just to wash it away."_

Yes, there was no denying. There was no lying to himself, there was no lying to anyone else. Perhaps there never really had been. Dean was Castiel's and all he could hope in this moment, and every moment henceforth, was that Castiel was Dean's.

_"When you're sick of the every day, when you're tired of my voice, when you tell me you'll walk out that door, that's when I know that you'll stay."_

He continued his journey through town, singing his song, not even fighting the smile on his face or the tears in his eyes. He was in love in a way he never imagined he'd get to be. And for the first time in his short life that had felt so long, Dean Winchester felt free.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam had hoped the library held some sort of clue as to why the singing and dancing had started, but after sitting in the same spot he'd been in the previous night, it became clear there wasn't anything special about the area. It wasn't as if it could have explained his sudden belting of a Disney love song, anyway. He'd never been in this library before, and he didn't know anybody in this town. Yet the night before, it was as if he had walked right out of a scene in a romance movie.

>   
>  He was half asleep, hardly paying attention to the old newspapers he was rifling through, looking for something in the archives that could match the seeming avenging ghost that had lured them to this town. He reached to rub his eyes, and found himself stretching rather gracefully for a man of his stature, when suddenly the stretch turned into a dance move of sorts. Thinking it just a random occurance, he continued his research. But then it happened again. And again. And again. Until finally, he was standing, twirling, arms gracefully extending in arcs. It took him a moment to realize, but he was dancing. Ballet, if he had to guess.
> 
> And then the singing started.
> 
> _"If there's a prize for rotten judgement, I guess I've already won that."_
> 
> Unable to call out for help or interrupt the song in any way, Sam just went with it and hoped it be over soon. Lucky for him, it wasn't exactly a long song. Unlucky for him, he didn't notice the five women outside the library singing his backup. Perhaps if he'd seen that he'd have also seen the symbol that was drawn into the steam on the window, the symbol that bore a striking resemblance to the amulet he'd found in Rufus's basement only a few days before...

Sighing angrily, Sam realized that it was probably more due to feelings than anything else that the singing happened. He was unsure who or what he was supposed to be in love with, but if that's what it took, then he'd try to feel that love.

"Come on, Sam, love love love love love. Just think about being in love, remember how it was with Jess, just come on..." he said to himself quietly, closing his eyes and losing himself in memories. Slowly but surely, he felt the same feeling he'd felt last night building in him, until he found himself on his feet again, his mouth opening to sing.

_"Without you the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows. Without you the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play. The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly without you. The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die without you."_

Laughing in the short interlude between verses, Sam realized this was a song from the musical RENT, which he would never admit to having seen in theaters. Thinking there was no way it was Jess he was singing about since she was long dead and he had never hidden being in love with her, he found his mind wandering as his voice carried on without his input. Who could he possibly love with such an aching sadness and longing?

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he nearly missed the fact that he'd sat back down, a pen in his hand, absently sketching the symbol of the amulet currently sitting in his wallet. He reached for it so quickly he nearly dropped it.

_"The tears dry without you. Life goes on, but I'm gone, 'cause I die without you."_

Wondering if the symbol was really the key to everything, Sam put the amulet around his neck so he wouldn't lose it, and headed for the theology section of the library, hoping to unearth something about this mysterious trinket.

* * *

Castiel, meanwhile, found it grew more and more difficult to stay away from the town where he'd left the Winchesters. It was not that his resolve had wavered--on the contrary, he found his songs were growing more and more obvious as to his feelings. He had started off singing ambiguously about heartache, but the songs had transformed into ones begging his intended--Dean--to consider him. While floating in nonbeing around the globe, listening for clues, he'd heard a piece of Dean's song. The words had felt like they were for him, but he couldn't be sure. Yet, since hearing it, he found it took more energy than it should for him to remain in his celestial state. Before he knew it, he was back in that god-forsaken town, looking for Dean. As he wandered, he sang.

_"Use me, take me home and use me. Press your hands into my body. You'll be my sorrow, we both know it shows. Push me, make me feel I'm weightless. Running, we will not escape this, shake this. You'll be addicted, I'll be inflicted. This is agony, but it's still a thrill for me, this could end in tragedy. Pour yourself all over, oh. No time to waste, let's fall from grace."_

Finally, he spotted Dean. His song seemed to catch in his throat until both he and Dean were running toward each other. They stopped short, just a few inches away from each other, each wanting to say something.

 _"Save me, save me with your kisses,"_ Cas sang. Dean continued, _"Give me the angels and their whispered wishes; I'll not fall down. My soul is bound,"_. As he sang that line, Cas's hand pressed onto the spot where he'd burned his mark into Dean years ago.

_"Everyone says you're bad for my head, but I'm in denial. One look at your face, I'm back in that place, I'm feeling the fire. This is agony. This is agony. This is agony but it's still a thrill for me. This could end in tragedy; pour yourself all over, oh."_

 _"Agony, this could end in tragedy; pour yourself all over, oh. No time to waste, let's fall from grace."_ As he sang that final line, Dean pulled Castiel into him slowly, pressing their bodies together, his hands snaking their way around Cas's neck. Castiel's eyes slowly shut, and the next sensation he knew was the most powerful thing he'd felt since the dawn of creation. Dean's mouth was pressed to his, their lips sliding across each other.

It wasn't a particularly great sensory experience, their lips dragging and catching, the slippery feel of each others' tongue, the clash of teeth on teeth. But the magic wasn't in the kiss itself. It was in the completeness felt when they melded into one being, heart and soul. "Screw figuring out what caused this," Cas found himself thinking. He had Dean because of it, and for that alone it couldn't be so bad.


End file.
